Proverbs 1:1-33
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Prologue: Purpose and Theme
The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel:
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for attaining wisdom and discipline;
for understanding words of insight;
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for acquiring a disciplined and prudent life,
doing what is right and just and fair;
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for giving prudence to the simple,
knowledge and discretion to the young—
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let the wise listen and add to their learning,
and let the discerning get guidance—
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for understanding proverbs and parables,
the sayings and riddles of the wise.
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The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge,
but fools despise wisdom and discipline.
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Exhortations to Embrace Wisdom
Warning Against Enticement
Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction
and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.
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They will be a garland to grace your head
and a chain to adorn your neck.
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My son, if sinners entice you,
do not give in to them.
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If they say, “Come along with us;
let’s lie in wait for someone’s blood,
let’s waylay some harmless soul;
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let’s swallow them alive, like the grave,
and whole, like those who go down to the pit;
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we will get all sorts of valuable things
and fill our houses with plunder;
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throw in your lot with us,
and we will share a common purse”—
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my son, do not go along with them,
do not set foot on their paths;
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for their feet rush into sin,
they are swift to shed blood.
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How useless to spread a net
in full view of all the birds!
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These men lie in wait for their own blood;
they waylay only themselves!
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Such is the end of all who go after ill-gotten gain;
it takes away the lives of those who get it.
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Warning Against Rejecting Wisdom
Wisdom calls aloud in the street,
she raises her voice in the public squares;
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at the head of the noisy streets she cries out,
in the gateways of the city she makes her speech:
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“How long will you simple ones love your simple ways?
How long will mockers delight in mockery
and fools hate knowledge?
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If you had responded to my rebuke,
I would have poured out my heart to you
and made my thoughts known to you.
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But since you rejected me when I called
and no one gave heed when I stretched out my hand,
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since you ignored all my advice
and would not accept my rebuke,
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I in turn will laugh at your disaster;
I will mock when calamity overtakes you—
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when calamity overtakes you like a storm,
when disaster sweeps over you like a whirlwind,
when distress and trouble overwhelm you.
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“Then they will call to me but I will not answer;
they will look for me but will not find me.
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Since they hated knowledge
and did not choose to fear the Lord,
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since they would not accept my advice
and spurned my rebuke,
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they will eat the fruit of their ways
and be filled with the fruit of their schemes.
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For the waywardness of the simple will kill them,
and the complacency of fools will destroy them;
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but whoever listens to me will live in safety
and be at ease, without fear of harm.”